Iran Expects First Airbus Jet In Mid-January

Iran expects to receive its first jet next month under a
multibillion-dollar deal with Airbus for 100 planes, a senior Iranian official
said.

Deputy Iranian Roads and Urban Development Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan
told Reuters in an interview that the negotiations with Airbus have been
finalized and that the deal is expected the be signed on December 20 or 21.

The timetable suggests the first Airbus A321 could arrive before the January 20
inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has opposed the nuclear
deal reached last year between Tehran and six world powers that curbed Iran's
controversial nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Airbus has said it was still negotiating the deal with Iran Air, the national
airliner.

The deal comes after the U.S. Treasury Department in September granted
permission to Boeing and Airbus to sell billions of dollars' worth of aircraft
to Iran.

Kashan's comments about Airbus come one week after Iran Air announced it would
buy 80 planes from Boeing over the next decade.